Hailstorm whitens Darjeeling

Darjeeling, March 31: Darjeeling was covered in white with the hill town experiencing an unprecedented bout of hailstorm at noon today.

Hailstone accompanied by a strong drizzle that lasted for nearly an hour from 11.45am had the town covered in more than four inches of ice.

It had last snowed here in 2008 and even though hailstones were not as soothing as snowfall, an icy Darjeeling was greeted with much enthusiasm by local residents and tourists alike. <>The scene was like a snow-covered Darjeeling.Saha and his friends were stuck in a massive traffic jam near the district magistrate’ office along 18 Lebong Cart Road. Hailstorms occur when there is moisture in the air and temperature soars high. Walking became a Herculean task mainly through uphill paths.

Tea planters were concerned about the damage to first flush.

Sandeep Mukherjee, the principal advisor to the Darjeeling Tea Association, said: “Hailstones at this time will definitely affect the first flush. We are, however, still collecting reports of the damage from different places.”

The first flush plucking starts from February-end and continues till April. First flush constitutes around 15-20 per cent of the total annual tea production and commands highest price and is suited for export. Darjeeling produces around 8 million kg of made-tea annually.

Sources at the Indian Meteorological Department in Calcutta said there was a forecast of rainfall and thunder-squall across north Bengal in the next few days and hailstorm in Sikkim. “Like it happened in Darjeeling today, there is a forecast of similar hailstorm in Sikkim in the next few days. There was isolated rain in some areas of north Bengal today,” said an IMD source.

While Siliguri received rain today, there was a bout of hailstorm in Fulbari.

Pic by Pankaj Prasad

Darjeeling turns white amid hailstone fury

Darjeeling, 31 Mar 2016: Darjeeling, the Queen of the Hills, was today enveloped in white after a sudden hailstorm hit the town area in the afternoon continuing relentlessly for nearly an hour. The fall was so heavy that hailstones accumulated in many places disrupting traffic till late in the evening, and pedestrians too had a very difficult time walking in the streets.

Darjeeling district magistrate Anurag Srivastav said, “There have been no reports of major damage from the town area apart from traffic getting disrupted due to the accumulation of hailstones. But the municipality has started clearing the roads.”

The only damage worth noting was the collapsing of the roof of the basketball court of Loreto Convent School. The school’s authorities said the incident occurred after lunch when all the students were inside the classrooms. Meanwhile, municipality officials said they were trying to restore normalcy and the hailstones would be cleared out by late evening. Locals were also seen helping the civic body workers in clearing the footpaths and streets in town.

The Mall area and Chowrasta, the favourite haunt of tourists and locals alike, were packed with people enjoying themselves. Subhojit Biswas, from Dum Dum, Kolkata, said, “This is the first time I have been here and had never experienced something like this. My visit to the hills has been worthwhile.”

Town resident Rajeev Lepcha said, “I’ve been living in Darjeeling for almost 40 years now and I had never experienced such a phenomenon. What happened today was simply amazing.”

Meanwhile, the Darjeeling Tea Association was sombre, with an official saying the hailstorm will affect the tea gardens. DTA principal advisor Sandeep Mukherjee said, “The hailstones will definitely affect the tea gardens this is the time when 10 per cent of the first flush is produced. Now, production will likely be pushed back by two weeks although it will take some time to assess which gardens were the most affected.” (EOIC)

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